Caravan service

[madeleine]

Hi everyone

Can anyone explain this one?

Ive just booked my Hymer 545 in for its first service and damp check, its going to be £198 plus £43 for the damp check, they work on a rolling week so I need to visit twice, ok, no problem, but my 530tdi bmw is also coming up to 1 year old, its not ready for service yet, but when it is will cost me only £180 they will have it for a day. Surely the work carried out on the car is more technical than that on the caravan, I cant see where they get the costing for caravan servicing, can anyone else?

Regards maddy

 

[PC_5119929]

No doubt this will upset many. But greed and easy money comes to mind when I see the cost of caravan servicing!

 

[sparkes]

Captive audience!

As for the damp test costing another

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I have just ordered a 2007 model Ace and was told by the salesman that there is no obligation to take the van back to him for service. The van can be serviced under warranty, and not invalidate the warranty, by a private third party service centre as long as they are approved by the manufacturer. I would suggest that you check with the manufacturer and if Hymer have a similar policy find an independant approved service centre. Good luck.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I have just ordered a 2007 model Ace and was told by the salesman that there is no obligation to take the van back to him for service. The van can be serviced under warranty, and not invalidate the warranty, by a private third party service centre as long as they are approved by the manufacturer. I would suggest that you check with the manufacturer and if Hymer have a similar policy find an independant approved service centre. Good luck.

Forgot to mention but the same applies to the car - as long as the service centre is VAT registered it does not have to go back to a BMW dealer.

 

[parker1158]

Hi All

I don't know about BMW servicing but I would guess a first 10,000 mile service will involve the best part of nothing at all. I had my Seat Leon (not my tow car)serviced the other week, its first annual service (done about 7000 miles) cost

 

[RayS]

I have been told that so long as you have the van serviced by an Approved Wprkshop and that genuine manufacturers parts are used e.g. Alko wheel nuts, then the maker cannot legally dispute any warranty claims, although warranty work as opposed to routine serviving may have to be done at the authorised / franchised dealer.

Does anyone have chapter and verse for this in law ? I think it all started for cars but not extends to warranties for alomost anything.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Ray

I am not a laywer, but I do understand the difference between warranty and manufactures guarantee's.

Warranty for any retail purchased item legally rests with the retailer/seller. (Personal sales sales are not regulated in the same way, unless the seller is a retailer of that type of product) The seller cannot avoid that liability.

A Manufacture is not obliged in law to provide an enduser guarantee (unless they sell direct and become the retailer), thus any manufactuers Guarantee is a gift. It can tied up with as many clauses as they like.

Sometimes a manufacture enters an agreement with a retailer to establish a 'Dealership' Dependant on the details of the dealership contract, all participating retailers may agree to be liable to cover waranty work for each other.- though this does not superceed or negate the original dealers legal responsibilities.

If a retailer goes belly up, then the legal warranty also expires, but sometimes the manufacture or a trade organisation may arrang to cover any outstanding retail warranty claims, but again it is a gift not a legal rite, unless the dealer stated so and supported the statement with documentation at the time of the contract of sale.

The issue of having service work relating to automobiles carried out at an 'approved workshop' was tested in the courts . It was I belive found to be an unfair contract for a wholly owned Dealership to insist on normal service work to be performed only by the same dealer, or within the dealership as this was anti-competitive, and not in the consummers best interests.

Most Caravan dealerships are franchis operations, thus they are not wholey owned by a single caravan manufacture, but in principle the same logic should apply.

 

[Surfer]

You are being ripped off! We pay

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I now have West Mercia Mobile Caravans come to my home and do the service. No more lugging the van 52 miles up the A49 to Salop Caravans. He is also qualified to do warranty repairs with the exception of damage to panels from water ingress. He's Corgi registered too. Without the overheads of dealers (except van and tools)he can service and repair vans cheaper. My service cost

 

[Fubar]

Lord B

are you keeping a low profile these days?? or have you fallen out with someone, hmmm???

BF (",)

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Hi Mark, I've been popping in to read the posts occasionally but haven't bothered posting because of the site being down all the time and wasting my artistic prose hehheh!

BTW congratulations on getting spliced - another man bites the dust :O)

 

[Fubar]

Thanks - I notice you didn't say another GOOD man bites the dust!! ;0)

finally persuaded Karen to do the decent thing, she hasn't realised that she is now automatically an honourary Scot by default.

you have good holidays? been anywhere you can recommend??

M (",)

 

[Ogre]

Most caravan servicing can easily be done by the owner. The only time you need to visit a dealer is if the van is under warranty, or if you are having gas problems which you should not mess around with under any circumstances.

Get your tool boxes out, and you will learn about your caravan at the same time. Most of these 'services' are indeed a complete rip-off.

I service my own car, and caravan. I don't trust dealers to do the job properly. If I do it, I know it's been done.

Dealers are notoriously untrustworthy in my opinion. Once they have your money, they don't want to know about you.